David Rojas: Developing Wolves Soccer

“It has to be fun.”

That’s a cornerstone of David Rojas’ philosophy as head coach of Northwestern Polytechnic’s Wolves Men's Soccer team. Make no mistake, David is highly competitive. In his 3 years coaching the Wolves, he’s focused on building a strong team culture and a winning squad.

“It’s all about development,” says David. “We’re building players who can think for themselves and be creative. And that comes with enjoyment and making sure players have fun.”

David is also executive director of Swan City Football Club, which he feels meshes well with his NWP role. “I can instill all of the habits, attitudes and responsibilities that I see in good college players,” he explains. “When we start with the objective of getting kids to the college level or higher, we do things with more purpose.” 

The youngest Swan City players are just 3, while the oldest are generally grade 11 and 12 students. “Those are the players we look to transition to the college environment,” says David. Part of developing their skills includes inviting them to NWP’s practices and pre-season games so they understand what it takes to play at that level. “We want Grande Prairie kids to succeed.”

David hopes the Wolves will see an influx of local players in the coming years. “It’s really fun to coach Swan City kids because I’ve known them for 10 years by the time they get to college,” he notes. “That connection is an advantage. They bring the strong Swan City FC culture with them to NWP.”

As much as David wants local youth onside, he also casts a wide net to fill his roster. “A big part of the job is recruiting,” he explains. He and his team spend the off-season watching film of players, setting up meetings and watching the action at camps across the country online. This coming season, the Wolves will welcome players from Edmonton, Fort St. John, Toronto, and Brazil among other locales.

David himself is originally from Mexico. It’s been 14 years since his dad relocated an 18-year-old David and his 6 siblings to Grande Prairie. “I came for a semester or maybe a year to learn the language,” he laughs. “I liked the country, the city and the weather. Now, I’m a big Grande Prairie guy. This is one of the best cities to put down roots.”

Through a combination of learning English, academic upgrading, and completing NWP’s Kinesiology, University Transfer program, David spent 4 years playing for the Wolves himself, 3 of those as captain. “I loved every minute of it,” he says of his time as a player. He found that he wanted to push himself and those around him to achieve. “It woke up this desire to build something better,” David recalls.

As a coach and former player, David understands the work it takes to balance sport and school and believes his ability to relate to his players is one of his strengths. “I share their experiences and can relate in a way that’s not super old-school,” he reflects.

David coaches a U12 team in the summer and loves to stay active with golf, pickleball, squash and more time on the pitch playing men’s league soccer. He and his wife (Jessica Winterford, a former Wolves soccer player and captain herself) are looking forward to a belated honeymoon after marrying last August just days before preseason. Their destination? Vancouver, because David won tickets to see Canada in a World Cup match.

David is focused on developing a successful team and culture, one beautiful game at a time – and proving he can keep a lot of balls in the air while he does it.